Passages

On Sept. 6 a judge in the Bahamas dismissed charges against two people accused of trying to extort money from John Travolta, 56, after the death of the actor's son. Ambulance driver Tarino Lightbourne and his attorney, Pleasant Bridgewater, allegedly sought $25 million from the Old Dogs star in return for not releasing private information about the January 2009 death of Jett, 16, at the family's home on Grand Bahama. According to the prosecutor, "The Travoltas have said that this matter has caused them unbelievable stress and pain, and they wish to put this whole thing behind them."

LEGAL MATTERS

A lawyer for Taylor Lautner, 18, announced on Sept. 3 that the actor had settled a lawsuit he filed against McMahon's RV of Irvine, Calif. Claiming the dealership missed a June deadline to deliver a $300,000 trailer to be used as a dressing room on movie shoots, the Twilight star sued for breach of contract. After rejecting McMahon's offer to settle the matter with a push-up contest, Lautner accepted a $40,000 settlement, which he will donate to the children's charity Lollipop Theater Network.

BIRTHS

Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, 58, and his wife, designer Georgina Chapman, 34, welcomed their first child, a daughter they named India Pearl, on Aug. 29 in New York City. The film producer has three daughters, Lily, Emma and Ruthie, from a previous marriage. • Former Full House star Jodie Sweetin, 28, and her boyfriend Morty Coyle welcomed their first child together, a girl they named Beatrix, on Aug. 31 in California. The actress has daughter Zoie, 2, with her ex-husband Cody Herpin.

DEATHS

Comedian Robert Schimmel, who pushed the envelope with his foulmouthed routines, died in Phoenix on Sept. 3, eight days after he was seriously injured in a car accident. • Cellist Mike Edwards, a founding member of the 1970s-'80s rock band Electric Light Orchestra, was killed in a freak accident Sept. 3 in Devon, England. The musician, 62, died when a huge bale of hay rolled down a hill and struck his van on the road.

FOR SALE: SPELLING'S DWELLING

The Los Angeles mega-mansion built by TV producer Aaron Spelling hit the open market on Sept. 3 after quietly languishing in private-sale limbo. Spelling's widow, Candy, is reportedly moving to a condo in Century City and has no need for the 100-plus-room, French chateau-style estate in the posh Holmby Hills neighborhood. Along with the usual upper-crust amenities (pool, tennis, library, gym, wine cellar and tasting room), the 73,500-sq.-ft. home boasts a bowling alley, screening room, beauty salon/barber shop and the infamous rooms devoted entirely to dolls and the wrapping of presents.